J.

Mitchell-Wagner 1

Reading Film
By Professor: J. Mitchell-Wagner

Overview:
The definition of reading goes beyond the printed page. We can read peoples
faces, music, art, and, yes, film. Just like the texts that we read, the creators of film
(from writers, to producers, to directors, to actors) make choices that try to convey
a message to their audiences. Sometimes their messages are clear; other times
they are more subtle. And, sometimes, they are misinterpreted. The films we will
view this semester tie in with the texts we are reading, themes, and SLOs. I am
inviting you to become an active reader of these films and take them seriously,
like you would an assigned text.

Directions:
When you are required to view a film, please fill out the graphic organizer that is
included at the very END of this handout and upload it by the due datethere are
two parts: Characterization and Viewers Choice. Please carefully READ the
content included, such as topics and film terminology; they will help you as you
consider your answers. Further, we will be conducting Socratic Seminars on the
films, and you may write an essay on them; the graphic organizer may be
preparatory work for those assignments.

Topics to consider within the course themes:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Setting: Time, Place, History

Character: Race, Class, Gender
Symbol
Kuleshov Effect: Juxtaposition of images (words) and/or characters to portray certain
feelings
5. Plot
6. Comparison/contrast with other texts/media
7. Director/Writer Choices
Center for Media Literacy: www.medialit.org
Media Literate America: www.amlainfo.org

J. Mitchell-Wagner 2

Film terminology (From Reading in the Dark):

Framing Shots:

Long Shot: a shot taken from some distance; shows the full subject and perhaps the
surrounding scene as well.
Establishing Shot: sets up the scene or shows the space of a scene; often a long shot or
series of shots
Close-up: the image being shot takes up at least 80 percent of the frame. There is also the
extreme close-up that would show one part of the body or a portion of an object.
Medium shot: in between a LS and a CS; people are seen from the waist up.

Focus:

Soft focus: when a director intentionally puts his or her object slightly out of focus to
make the image look softer or unclear.
Rack focus: when a director shifts the focus from object to another in the same shot in
order to direct the audiences attention.
Deep focus: when the foreground and background are equally in focus.

Camera Angles:

Low angle: camera shoots subject from below; has the effect of making the subject look
larger than normalstrong powerful, threatening.
High angle: camera is above the subject; usually has the effect of making the subject look
smaller than normalweak, powerless, trapped.
Eye level: accounts for 90 to 95% of the shots seen because it is the most natural; camera
is even with the key characters eyes.
Dutch angle: shot that is titled sideways on the horizontal line (also called canted
angle); used to add tension to a static frame, it creates a sinister or distorted view of a
character.

Sound:

Diagetic: sound that could be heard logically by the characters within the film; sound can
also be internal diegetic, meaning that the sound can be heard only be heard only within
the mind of one character.
Nondiegetic: sound that could not be heard by the characters; sound given directly to the
audience by the director.

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Lighting:

Low-key: scene is flooded with shadows and darkness; creates suspense/suspicion.

High-key: scene is flooded with light; creates bright and open-looking scene.
Neutral: neither bright nor darkeven lighting throughout the shot.
Bottom/side: direct lighting from below or from one side; often dangerous or evillooking, may convey split personality or moral ambiguity.
Front/rear: soft, direct lighting on face or back of subjectmay suggest innocence-create a halo effect.

Camera Movement:

Pan: stationary camera moves left or right.

Tilt: stationary camera moves up or down.
Zoom: the camera is stationary, but the lens moves, making the objects to grow larger or
smaller.
Dolly: the camera itself is moving with the actionon a track, on wheels, or held by
hand.

Editing Techniques:

The most common is a cut to another image.

Fade: scene fades to black or white; often implies that time has passed.
Dissolve: an image fades into another; can create a connection between images.
Crosscutting: cut to action that is happening simultaneously; also called parallel editing.
Flashback: movement into action that has happened previously, often signified by a
change in music, voice-over narration, or a dissolve; a flash-forward leads us ahead in
time.
Eye-line match: a shot of a person looking, then a cut to what he or she saw, followed by
a cut back for a reaction.

Mise-en-Scene:
This refers to what appears within the frame of the shot, including the costumes, props, acting,
lighting, and make-up.

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Characterization Analysis (250 to 500 Words)

Considerations

Character Name:
June
Calm,

Character Name:
Lindo
Outgoing, strong
accent,

Character Name:
Rose
Kind, calm, quite

Appearance (What
does the character
look like? What does
he/she wear?)

She has long black

hair, gold earrings,
She wore long dress.

Short hair,
Skirt with Cardigan.

Middle short hair,

White blouse with
black jacket.

Race, Gender, Class

Chinese, Female,
middle class

Chinese, Female,
middle class

Chinese, Female,
middle class

This one moment

would decide for my
whole life whether
fear would rule or I
would. I decided.
Underneath I knew
who I was. I promised
myself never to
forget.
Worried, happy,

The beautiful part

was, he never had to
ask for any of this. In
fact, he never even
knew. I told myself
that was the selfless
way, the loving way,
instead of the chickens
hit way.

Behavior

Dialogue

You want me to be
someone I'm not. I'll
never be the kind of
daughter that you
want me to be.

Feelings

Excited, worried, sad,

happy,

Directors/Writers
Craft
(See Film
Terminology)

Pan, tilt, zoom, Dolly,

Flash back, neutral,
low-key

Pan, tilt, zoom, Dolly,

Flash back, low-key,
neutral

Happy, Sad,
complicated,
depressed
Pan, tilt, zoom, Dolly,
Flash back, low-key,
neutral,

J. Mitchell-Wagner 5

The Settings Effects

on the Character
(Setting includes time,
place, & attitudes)

1980s, June house in

San Francisco,
California.
She went to China for
meet her twin sisters.

Junes house
San Francisco

Junes house
San Francisco
Her house with
husband.

Viewers Choice
This movie showed the immigrant identity and cultural identity. Also it showed the relationships
between mothers and daughters. They had misunderstanding each other but later, they could
understand each other. I was the first child and my parents wanted me to grow up number one
student in every area. When I was young, I really hated and I did not understand my parents
pushed me that I did not want to do. But now, I could understand and realized that they sacrificed
for me.